Sound-record.



L. H. BABKELAND.

SOUND RECORD.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11, 1 10 1,083,264, v Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

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W] T NE SSES [JV VENY -01'? UNITED srnrns PATENT OFF-ICE.

LEO H. IBAEKELAND, on YoNkR s, NEW YORK, AssIoNoR r0 GENERAL BAKELITE C MPANY, QF'TNEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SOUND-RECORD.

Specification of Letters ratent.

Patented Dec. so, 1913.

Application filed June 11, mm. Serial No. 566,434.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEoH'. BAEKELAND, a citizen of, the United States, residing at Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain able fillers. There have also been suggested for use certain resinous condensation products of phenols and formaldehyde, which are fusible and thermoplastic,

My invention comprises a sound record containing the hard, infusible or non-thermoplastic condensation products of suit-able phenolic [bodies andformaldehyde. As these products are infusible, the molding thereof must necessarily be performed at some earlier stage of the chemical reactions which engender them. Several intermediate stages of the chemical process are however known, the products ,of which are still fusible or plastic, but it is characteristic of such products, insofar as they are'adapted for use in accordance with my invention, that through further action of heat, or heat and pressure, or by the use of suitable socalled condensing agents, or catalyzers, they canbe transformed by a process of polymerization into the final hard, infusible or non-thermoplastic product.

The various materials heretofore employed for the preparation of sound records have been thermoplastic, melting under the action of heat and hardeningagain on cooling. In contradistinction to these the final condensation products of phenols and formaldehyde adapted for use in accordance with this invention are non-thermoplastic, being quite incapable in their pure state, or when unmixed with softening agents of softening by heat to such degree as to permit a new perfect impression to be made. In their final condition these possess a remarkable degree of physical and chemical inertness, and are able to withstand the most extreme conditions .of weather, being entirely unaffected even by prolonged immersion in water at the boiling point. For this reason such products yield a sound record which'is practically permanent and. but little liable to accidental-injury. The final condensation product is moreover harder than shellac, celluloid or hard rubber, and for this reason withstands much better'the wear of the reproducing needle or style, and

gives a clearer reproduction. Heretofore also it has been necessary, in order to increase the hardness of the plastic components of the records, to incorporate therewith baryta, silica, metallic-oxids and similar inert materials. In the present case however such additions are not essential, although they are preferably used. The sound record properly prepared from the condensation. products of phenols and for-.

maldehyde is as smooth as glass and almost as hard, while possessing a much greater degree of strength.

Any of the incomplete or part-ialcondensation products of phenols and'formalde.

hyde which may engender the final hard, infusible product can be used with more or less good results; for instance, so-called phenol-alcohols or their partial anhydrids or derivatives can be used, but I prefer more especially to use such partial condensation products as are obtained by boiling togctherabout equal parts of ordinary carbolic acid and commercial formaldehyde in presence of a suitable amount of ammonia, say about ten per cent. of the total mass, or

other suitable condensing agent. This boiling is ordinarily performed in a return condenser, and after some time the mass separates in twolay'ers, the lower one constituting a partial condensation product, which by further application of heat, can be thickened more if desired and can even be transformed-into a mass which solidifies on cooling, but which is still fusible or plastic, and which, byfurther application of heat, can be transformed into the hard infusible condensation product of phenols and formaldephenols is employed to include the product, it is preferable to employ the latter in conjunction with suitable filling materials incorporated in the mass; or again, the parby any other suitable means.

tial condensation product may be used to impregnate or cover a suitable skeleton or supporting body composed of another suitable substance, as for instance, card board, wood, or metals, etc.

If the material is to be used in mixture with filling materials, for instance baryta,

china clay, pigments, fibrous materials,

ground Wood, etc., the latter are incorporated at any suitable stage of the process before the final molding takes place.

The record can also be prepared by applying on the surface of a suitable support, say a disk or cylinder of any suitable material, a thin layer of partial condensation product, or a mixture thereof containing other suitable substances. This application can be made according to the consistence of the material by brushing, dipping, by dusting on, or by other suitable method; if necessary, proper solvents can be used so as to apply the material in the form of a varnish or paint, or both methods may be used in combination; for example, the surface may be .coated with the liquid material, over which sticky surface pulverized material may be applied, either by dusting on, or In whatever way the partial condensation roduct be applied to the support, disk, cylinder, etc., the whole is now submitted to molding and hardening as described above, so as to transform it into the infusible or non-thermoplastic condensation product of greater hardness. Likewise, a disk or cylinder of paper, or cardboard can be impregnated with. a partial-condensation product in liquid form, or in solution in appropriate volatile solvents, as for example acetone, alcohol, etc., and then molded and hardened as described before.

One of the most practical ways of applying my invention consists in making a dry or wet paper mass containing a suitable amount of partial condensation product, the latter preferably in solid form but in comminuted condition, and to form this paper mass in a provisional shape easily adapted to further operations, for instance, disks or cylinders, which then can be pressed and molded hot or otherwise hardened in a suitable matrix. A method of this character is claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 520,676, filed October 2, 1909.

this purpose it is preferred to employ temperatures considerably in excess of 100 C., and at times exceeding 200 C. The molded object may be cooled before it is separated from the mold for the purpose of facilitatin handling; cooling is not however required for hardening the article, which is hard even though delivered hot from the mold.

The paper mass can be made in a heater or grinder, or other suitable device, as used ordinarily for paper or pulp-making, and other suitable substances or fillers may be used, or pigments or dyes may be added, to improve the chemical or physical properties or appearanceof the final article.

Instead of making these disks or cylinders of homogeneous composition, it is advisable to build them up in such a way that the socalled talking surface, or record side, may consist of a layer richer in condensa- 1 tion product than the substance of the substratum and comprising either the substantially pure condensation product or a comparatively rich mixture thereof with fibrous or other filling materials. This produces a harder and more resisting surface and decreases also the cost of the material. It may become necessary to provide a surface coating of this kind on both sides, even in cases where the record is formed on one side only, so as to compensate irregular contraction and to avoid warping.

The application of a" richer'surface layer can be accomplished in the way described above, or the condensation product may simply be applied on the matrix by dusting strong, less hard, and remaining fusible.-

The term sound record is-herein used to designate all forms of records, whether musical or otherwise, for the reproduction of sound in devices of the general character above mentioned.

Reference is'made to the accompanying iso drawing showing a conventional type of sound record,"having-indicated thereon the character of the composition.

The term non-thermoplastic, as applied to the completed sound record, indicates that the material, in contradistinction to shellac, resinous" condensation products, andxanalogous materials, is incapable of fusion at-any temperature, and does not soften to an ap- 10 preciable degree under the highest temperatures to which it maybe exposed under con-,

fusible condensation fibrous filling material.

4. As a new article of manufacture a nonthermoplastic sound record of WhlCh the record surface is principally composed of inproducts of phenols and formaldehyde.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a nonthermoplastic [sound record of which the record surface is principally composed'of infusible condensation products of phenols and formaldehyde,'in conjunction with suit able filling materials. 6. As a new article of manufacture, a'nonthermoplastic sound-record of which the and formaldehyde, conjunction withca I record surface is principally composed of infusible condensation products of phenols and formaldehyde, in conjunction with fibrous materials.

In testimony whereof, I afiix mysi gnature inpresence of two witnesses.

LEO H. BAEKELAND;

Witnesses y 1- 1 AUGUST GO'I'ILIELF, Lnwrs F. TAYLOR. 

